WebMistress – Page 14 – Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society Dartford

Two fantastic images of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks taken on the 15th & 18th March 2024 by member Jim Burchell. The images were taken using a Seestar S50 smartscope. On both nights Jim had a very small amount of time to capture the comet due to clouds rolling in. The image taken on the 15th is a stack of 6x10 second images and the image on the 18th is a stack of 18x10 second images.

Comet 12P/Pons Brooks on 15th March 2024

Comet P12/Pons Brooks on 18th March 2024

For more information about the comet and how to locate it check out https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/comet-12p-pons-brooks

The Sun – 25th Feb 2024 by Jim Burchell

14th March 2024

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| 12:22 am

NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please click here for solar observing safely.

A splendid image of the Sun taken on the 25th February 2024 by member Jim Burchell. Jim captured the image using a Seestar S50 smart scope fitted with a solar filter and processed in Snapseed. The giant sunspot AR3590 that can be seen on the Sun in Jim's image was more than ten times wider than Earth when the image was taken.

Messier 52 by Diane Clarke

13th March 2024

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| 10:55 pm

A super image of Messier 52 or M52, also known as NGC 7654 taken by member Diane Clarke on the 6th March 2024 during a brief clear spell in the weather.

Messier 52 is also known as the Scorpion Cluster or the Salt & Pepper Cluster and it is an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Cassiopeia. The cluster has an apparent magnitude of 6.9 and lies at an approximate distance of 4,600 light years from Earth.

Diane acquired the image using a Seestar S50 smart scope, 270 x 10s subs, stacked & processed using Affinity Photo.

Visible at the bottom of the image is part of the Bubble Nebula also known as C11 and NGC7635.

ExoPlanet transists 2023 by Simon Dawes

13th March 2024

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| 10:15 pm

A nice montage of the ExoPlanet transists Simon did in 2023 for the ExoClock project.

The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51a) by Diane Clarke

13th March 2024

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A great image of the Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a (M51a) or NGC 5194 and its companion NGC 5195 taken by member Diane Clarke on the 3rd March 2024.

The Whirlpool Galaxy was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy.

NGC 5195, which is also known as Messier 51b (M51b) is a dwarf galaxy and is the smaller object to the upper left to the Whirlpool galaxy in the image. NGC 5195 is gravitationally interacting with the Whirpool Galaxy. Both galaxies are found in the constellation Canes Venatici.

Diane acquired the image using a ZWO SeeStar S50 smart scope, taking 96 x 10sec subs and processed in Affinity photo.

Lunar Clair-obscur Effects – French for “light” (clair) and “shadow” (obscur)

12th March 2024

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Some fantastic images showing two 'Clair-obscur' effects visible on the surface of the Moon taken by member Jim Burchell on the 19th & 20th January 2024.

Clair-obscur effects are revealed when light and shadow interact with the Moon's craters and other features to trick the eye into seeing something that isn’t really there. Below are 7 of the best recognisable shapes created on the surface of the Moon.

Photo ref:https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/clair-obscur-effects-on-moon

Most Clair-obscur effects require specific timing. Some last for days and are easy to see. Others last for a few hours and are more challenging. Clair-obscur effects on the Moon are not one-time or rare events; this is because lunar lighting patterns repeat in a cycle of approximately 29.5 days, so each effect can be observed from somewhere on Earth once every month.

All of Jim's images below were a single shot; taken with a Pentax KP body attached to 102mm Altair Astro refractor. The images where then processed in Snapseed.

Lunar V

Plato's Hook

For more information about Clair-obscur effects check out:

https://marysastronomyblogs.blogspot.com/2024/

https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/clair-obscur-effects-on-moon

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/pleasures-of-lunar-pareidolia/

https://the-moon.us/wiki/Clair-obscur

The Orion Nebula by Jim Burchell

11th March 2024

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| 11:45 pm

A lovely image of the Orion Nebula (Messier 42/M42) taken by Jim Burchell on the 23rd February 2024 using a ZWO SeeStar S50 smart scope. The image is a stacked image containing 12 minutes of 10 second images. Jim said ''Considering the Moon phase was 97% illuminated I was quite impressed with the image.''

The Orion Nebula (M42) by Dr Mike Rushton

11th March 2024

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| 11:25 pm

A superb image of the Orion Nebula (Messier 42/M42) taken by Dr Mike Rushton on the 3rd March 2024.

Mike acquired the image using a Dwarf2 telescope from DWARFLAB and took 400 subframes of 10 secs which was then processed in SIRIL.

The Sun by Jim Burchell – 1st March 2024

6th March 2024

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| 12:27 am

NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please click here for solar observing safely.

Super image of the Sun taken by member Jim Burchell on the 1st March 2024.

The image was taken using a Pentax KP body set at Iso 200 & 1/400 sec, attached to a 102mm F14 Altar Astro refractor fitted with a solar filter (baader solar film). The image was then processed in Snapseed.

IC434, Horsehead Nebula and NGC2024 Flame Nebula by Kevin Langford

6th March 2024

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A fantastic image of IC434, the Horsehead Nebula & Flame Nebula (NGC2024) in the constellation Orion by member Kevin Langford. The image was taken on the 19th January 2024 from Bexley, Kent.

Kevin acquired his image using a ES 102ED APO, 0.7x focal reducer corrector, EQ5 Pro, ZWO ASI071, Orion MMAG and a L-enhance filter. A total of 2.45 hours of exposures.

IC434 is a bright emission nebula in Orion. It was discovered on February 1, 1786 by William Herschel.

The Horsehead Nebula is a small dark nebula silhouetted against IC 434 and is located near to the star Alnitak (ζ ) which is a triple star system at the eastern end of Orion's belt. The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 1,375 light-years from Earth. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of its resemblance to a horse's head.

The Flame Nebula (NGC2024) is also an emission nebula, it has a radius of 6 light-years and located about 1350 light-years away from Earth.